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Brief Profile

The Carrier (also known as the Dakelh) are an indigenous people of a large portion of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Their name was derived from a First Nations custom where a widow was obliged to carry the ashes of her dead husband around with her for 3 years. Linguistically the Carrier people comprise three major subgroupings based on differences in dialect and culture: (1) Upper Carrier or Babine, located along the Bulkley River and Babine Lake in the Skeena River watershed; (2) Central Carrier in the Stuart Lake and Fraser Lake basins in the Fraser River watershed; and (3) Southern Carrier or Lower Carrier in the Blackwater River region. The Canadian census does not separate Babine, Central Carrier, and Southern Carrier speakers.

Their traditional way of life was based on a seasonal round, with the greatest activity in the summer when berries were gathered and fish caught and preserved. Although the majority of present-day Carrier people have jobs, their diet still relies upon fish, game, and berries.

Carrier religious beliefs centered arounded a great sky god and many spirits in nature which were contacted through dreams, visions, ritual, and magic. They also believed in both reincarnation and an afterlife. The Carrier are now mostly Roman Catholic in belief, if not entirely in practice.

Prayer Points

Pray God will work through and in the lives of the Carrier people to grow in their understanding Jesus Christ.

Pray that Christians will intentionally seek out the Carrier and become a light for the gospel in both word and deed.

"After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb."(Revelation 7:9, NIV)